Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Fight Over Health Care Minimum Wage Yields a Split Decision in Southern California
Voters in Inglewood were poised to approve a union-backed $25 minimum wage for workers at private hospitals and facilities, while Duarte voters rejected it. (Rachel Bluth, )
Nurse Practitioner Rules Are Changing: California’s nursing agency has approved rules that will allow nurse practitioners to treat patients without physician supervision. It’s a move that aims to expand access to care in the Golden State at a time when workforce shortages plague just about every corner of health care. Read more from CalMatters.
New Controller Will Hold Health Care Purse Strings: Democrat Malia Cohen has won the race for California controller, a role that involves disbursing state funds and auditing government agencies. “I will make sure our tax dollars address the homelessness crisis, protect our environment, and provide access to health care and reproductive freedom,” Cohen said in a statement. Read more from AP.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
Controversial Title 42 Border Policy Vacated By Federal Judge
A federal judge in Washington on Tuesday vacated a controversial border policy known as Title 42, a public health law invoked by the Trump administration during the pandemic that had allowed border agents to quickly turn back migrants. The order blocks government officials’ use of a policy that has been criticized by immigrant-rights advocates. It came just days after the Biden administration ousted Chris Magnus, the head of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who had clashed with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas. (Aleaziz and Carcamo, 11/15)
The Washington Post:
White House Seeks More Covid Funding In Lame-Duck Session
The White House mounted another effort on Tuesday to secure billions of dollars from Congress for a new generation of coronavirus vaccines and treatments, even as Republicans remain skeptical about how past allocations were spent. Biden officials finalized a request this week for about $10 billion in public health funds by year’s end, part of a larger request in the lame-duck session of Congress that would also include funding for Ukraine and disaster relief for hurricane damage in Florida, according to six people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe confidential budget discussions. (Diamond, 11/15)
Stat:
White House’s Jha Isn’t Predicting A Severe Covid Surge This Holiday
Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 coordinator, predicted Tuesday that the United States will not be heading toward another Covid-19 surge driven by holiday gatherings akin to the Omicron wave in 2021. (Florko, 11/15)
CNN:
How To Protect Your Family Against Covid-19 Illness This Thanksgiving
With this year’s Thanksgiving the third since the onset of the pandemic, there are now many tools to help manage Covid-19 risk, including safe and widely available vaccines. But this coronavirus still presents a danger, especially to older people and those with chronic medical conditions. (Hetter, 11/16)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Doctors Concerned About Spike In Local Flu, RSV Rates
The feared viral “tripledemic” of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV) isn’t at a dire stage locally. But all three pathogens are on the rise, pushing Sonoma County’s hospital emergency rooms toward capacity and sparking worried parents to overload pediatric offices and appointment phone lines. (Barber, 11/15)
The Washington Post:
Parents Are Missing Work At Record Rates To Take Care Of Sick Kids
This fall has been a blur of runny noses, body aches and lost paychecks for Jacob Terry. His 18-month-old daughter came home from day care with Respiratory Syncytial Virus a few weeks ago. Now he’s got it, too, while trying to juggle child care responsibilities with his job as a marketing freelancer. “My daughter’s at home, she’s sick, I’m sick,” said Terry, 39, who lives near Los Angeles. “If I don’t work, I don’t eat. I’m medicating myself and staying up all night to catch up. It’s one big mess.” (Bhattarai, 11/15)
CNN:
RSV Hospitalization Rate For Seniors Is 10 Times Higher Than Usual For This Point In The Season
This season, about 6 out of every 100,000 seniors has been hospitalized with RSV, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s significantly lower than the rate for children but still uncharacteristically high. In the years before the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitalization rates for seniors were about 10 times lower at this point in the season. (Christensen, 11/15)
Reuters:
U.S. FDA Authorizes Roche's Monkeypox Test
The U.S. health regulator on Tuesday issued an emergency use authorization to Roche's (ROG.S) test for the detection of DNA from monkeypox virus in swab specimens collected from people suspected of the virus infection. ... The Food and Drug Administration said testing will be limited to laboratories that meet the requirements to perform moderate or high complexity tests. (11/15)
CIDRAP:
Jynneos Vaccine Not Linked To Hospitalization, Serious Adverse Outcomes
A non-peer-reviewed retrospective cohort study of 2,126 Jynneos monkeypox vaccine recipients identified 10 cardiac events that all had alternative explanations, and no hospitalizations or serious adverse outcomes were attributed to vaccination. The authors used vaccine recipients in the Kaiser Permanente Northwest system who were vaccinated with at least one dose of Jynneos between Jul 14 and Oct 10, 2022. (11/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Wage Boost For Inglewood Hospital Workers Expected To Pass
Workers at private hospitals and dialysis clinics in Inglewood are poised to get a wage increase, with a measure to boost their minimum wage to $25 an hour remaining ahead as election results continued to be tallied this week. (Alpert Reyes, 11/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Abortion Rights Protester Accuses City’s Paramedics Of Kidnapping In Lawsuit
San Francisco’s paramedics are permitted to use sedatives under three scenarios: before painful procedures, when patients have a seizure or — the most common reason — because they are a danger to themselves or others. But the escalating allegations raise questions about whether San Francisco fire department paramedics have used sedation against other protesters. (Moench, 11/15)
Becker's Hospital Review:
The Factors That Led A California Hospital To File For Bankruptcy
Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital CFO Mark Robinson told the hospital's board of directors several key factors led the Hollister, Calif.-based facility to a financial emergency, BenitoLink reported Nov. 14. (Cass, 11/5)
AP:
Amazon Plans New Virtual Care Offering Based On Messaging
Amazon is stepping back into virtual care with a new service that uses secure messaging to connect patients with doctors for help with nearly two dozen conditions. The retail giant said Tuesday it will launch “Amazon Clinic” in 32 states to provide medication refills and care for conditions like allergies, erectile disfunction, hair loss, migraines and urinary tract infections. That list does not include the flu, COVID-19, ear infections or other urgent care conditions for which patients often seek help through telemedicine. (11/15)
Los Angeles Times:
UC Irvine Professor Spent $400,000 Of State Funds On Cameras Used For Instagram Posts
Yi-hong Zhou was working as a research scientist at UC Irvine’s medical school in April 2014 when she received a strange question from the university’s equipment managers: Could she confirm she was using a $53,000 camera in her lab? Zhou replied that she’d never seen such a camera and didn’t understand why the department of neurological surgery would need anything of the kind. She didn’t receive much of an answer, she recalled. (Petersen, 11/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge Delays Decision On Homeless Suit Against L.A. County
A federal judge on Monday held back a decision on L.A. County’s proposed settlement of a 2020 lawsuit accusing the county and city of Los Angeles of failing to address homelessness, suggesting that he thinks the terms could be better. (Smith, 11/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
More People Are Exiting Homelessness In SF, According To New Data
More San Franciscans have exited homelessness through city programs so far in 2022 than any other year since 2018, the latest data from the city’s supportive housing department shows. Fueled by a push to house more people during the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment for homeless relief programs rose for the first time in recent years to 2,375, a 12% increase from 2018. This is according to the city’s performance scorecard data that tracks the number of households — which includes individuals or families — enrolled in three homelessness relief programs that provide interventions like affordable housing options or rent subsidies. (Rezal, 11/16)
NPR:
A Nonprofit Says Preterm Births Are Up In The U.S. — And It's Not A Partisan Issue
Preterm births are a leading cause of infant deaths and can have long-term effects on a child's health and development. And, according to a new report, they're on the rise. On Tuesday, the nonprofit March of Dimes released its 2022 Report Card, which grades the whole country as well as individual states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico on measures related to the health of moms and babies. (Treisman, 11/15)
CNN:
US Gets D+ Grade For Rising Preterm Birth Rates, New Report Finds
Taking an in-depth look at premature births, the new report found that the US preterm birth rate rose to 10.5% last year, representing an increase of 4% since 2020 and the worst national rate since March of Dimes started tracking this data in 2007, based on its new calculation system. “This is actually a 15-year high in the preterm birth rate in this country,” said Dr. Zsakeba Henderson, senior vice president and interim chief medical and health officer at March of Dimes. (Howard, 11/15)
Reuters:
FDA To Review Baby Formula Production Rules To Prevent Bacterial Illness
The U.S. health regulator said on Tuesday it would review guidance and rules about manufacturing infant formula as part of its strategy to prevent bacterial illness similar to Abbott Laboratories' products this year. The Food and Drug Administration will also consider whether to establish a dedicated group of investigators and realign staff across two of its divisions to better support regulatory oversight of infant formula, among other measures, it said. (11/15)
USA Today:
Marijuana May Be More Harmful To Lungs Than Cigarettes, Study Suggests
Smoking marijuana may do more damage to lungs than cigarettes, a new study suggests. The study, published Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal Radiology, found marijuana may be linked to an increased risk of emphysema over smoking tobacco alone. (Rodriguez, 11/15)
Reuters:
Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug Likely Safe For OTC Use, Says FDA
Opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone may be safe and effective for over-the-counter use in some forms, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday, potentially paving the way for its use federally. The FDA would still require data on individual products from manufacturers for them to be available over the counter at a federal level. (11/15)
Stat:
Fentanyl Is Making It Harder To Start Addiction Treatment
Doctors are reporting a troubling trend when it comes to fentanyl. The powerful drug, they say, isn’t just causing overdoses — it’s also making it more difficult to begin addiction treatment. In particular, fentanyl appears more likely to cause severe withdrawal symptoms for patients put on buprenorphine, a key medication used to treat opioid use disorder. (Facher, 11/16)